General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3125 |
| Course name: | Comparative Constitutional Law |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Designated research course: | Not applicable |
| Specialization: | Not applicable |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
This course provides an introduction to comparative constitutional law. In this field, there are many topics of interest, including: constitutional design and change; institutional configuration; federalism; collective identity; etc. We will discuss many of these issues, but our focus will be on rights protection, also known as “constitutional justice.” After introducing basic theories of modern constitutions, we will examine in detail the consolidation of the proportionality framework as the dominant standard for rights adjudication. Most of you will be familiar with proportionality analysis (PA), a highly intrusive mode of judicial supervision, as a (truncated and infirm) version of it is in place in Hong Kong. PA permits government to limit rights, but only when necessary to achieve a sufficiently important public interest. Since the 1950s, virtually every powerful domestic and international court has adopted PA, if in various forms. The result has been a massive – and truly global – transformation of law and politics. While there is variance in the intensity of proportionality-based dialogues, such interactions are today at the very heart of governance – and normative controversy – in the modern constitutional state and treaty systems.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Alec Stone Sweet | asweet@hku.hk | CCT 903 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Compare and critically evaluate competing descriptive theories of constitutional drafting.
CLO 2 Apply social science theories to describe and explain the behavior of courts.
CLO 3 Describe and explain competing views of the impact of globalization on constitutional law.
CLO 4 Demonstrate awareness of the global context of domestic constitutional law, and the relationship between domestic law and supranational law.
CLO 5 Critically evaluate constitutional jurisprudence and make constitutional arguments from a comparative perspective.
2.2 LLB Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llb-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Due date | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Responses papers | TBC | 30% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | |
| Take home exam | 16 Dec 2023 | 70% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
The final exam will take place on a day chosen by the administration during the finals period. It will consists of four questions, divided into two sections. You will choose and write from one question in each section.
Response Papers: All students are required to produce two (at least 1000-word) discussion papers on two different sessions (and topics) of their choice.
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by the convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/